Mayim and Eitz — Why Torah Needs More Than Learning BeShalach

What happens when Torah has no room? When the chairs are gone, the tables are filled, and the beit midrash is reduced to a corner, a stairwell, or a crowded room? This morning's breakfast and a class was born out of such a moment. Following yesterday morning when a Bar Mitzvah celebration displaced the usual learning space, men and boys gathered wherever they could—standing shoulder to shoulder, sitting in stairwells, Gemarot balanced on knees, learning without comfort or convenience. And in that moment, the question became unavoidable: what does it really mean to support Torah?

In Parashat Beshalach, the Torah describes bitter water that could not be drunk—until Moshe is shown an eitz, a piece of wood, and casts it into the water. Chazal teach that mayim is Torah. The Chatam Sofer explains that Torah can exist, and yet feel bitter, when it is not upheld, supported, and entered into by those around it. Drawing on the teachings of the Chatam Sofer, Rabbi Asher Weiss, and lived experiences—from a crowded synagogue to clandestine Torah learning under Soviet oppression—this class explores a demanding truth: Torah cannot survive on learning alone. It needs people willing to make space for it, even when there is none.